Writers' News

'It’s full of snappily presented news stories, with the emphasis being very practical and focused on what is of interest to writers.'

'This range makes it especially useful to writers working in different fields'

'There’s also a great deal of advice on getting published'

'Writing Magazine has recently gone monthly, so the subscriber to Writers’ News also gets a separate monthly magazine'

'a series of excellent regular columns'

'Writers’ News two-in-one package also represents excellent value and is recommended for writers who want to keep in touch, find out about markets and improve their writing.'

Our magazine review section deals specifically with magazines for writers. These are not those which feature writers’ work, but the ones that are directed at writers themselves, to help them improve their writing and get published. We hope this series might help you decide which one might suit you, before you opt for a year’s subscription.

Writers’ Newsis a large-circulation British writers’ magazine. It is owned by Warners Group Publications, of Bourne, Lincolnshire. This magazine offers good value, since the monthly Writers’ News is now combined with a whole separate publication, Writing Magazine.

Writers’ News offers just what the title suggests. It’s full of snappily presented news stories, with the emphasis being very practical and focused on what is of interest to writers. It is market-oriented, with clearly signposted news items relating to markets for a wide range of writing, extending recently from Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy to Ski Industry Spotlight, and from Classic American cars to Virgin Books’ Nexus erotica imprint. This range makes it especially useful to writers working in different fields, including those writing magazine articles, poetry and short stories as well as book-length material.

This strong market orientation is followed through with regular columns of news from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. There are also lots of updates on prizes, competitions and other opportunities for writers.

The ‘Spotlight on’ series might cover anything from the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group to the Annual Writers Summer School in Swanwick. This section of the magazine is enlivened by the ‘Flashes’ column of short snippets and comments from a range of sources.

Two pages in the centre are full of Members’ News from members in more than 70 countries, often comprising success stories relating to publishing their books, frequently through self-publishing or some other special effort.

In the second part of the magazine there is the Writers’ News Helpline feature, a helpful place where readers can have their questions, ranging from copyright to how to get started with freelance writing, answered by Diana Cambridge.

This is also where you will find the various competition results, with the winning short stories and poems published in full and ‘Nairn Notes’, the wide-ranging column from the magazine’s founder, David St John Thomas.

Writing Magazinehas recently gone monthly, so the subscriber to Writers’ News also gets a separate monthly magazine with a series of longer articles which might cover anything from Production and Planning for self-publishers, How to Just Tell it Like it is, making your fantasy landscape viable and convincing, and articles on photojournalism, copywriting and a computer clinic.

There are a series of excellent regular columns from Judith Spellman (as well as her series of interviews with writers of interest, recently including Mark Billingham and Jane Wenham-Jones), Margaret James, Crysse Morrison, Richard Bell, poetry correspondent Alison Chisholm and Michael Legat on what is going on in publishing. These range very widely and would help a good number of writers, having recently included articles on Go with the Flow, the Opening Gambit in screenwriting and writing fantasy for children.

Taken together the two magazines do a good job of keeping the writer up-to-date and helping you to improve your writing across a wide field. The news from other countries might make the magazine a good bet if you live in Australia, South Africa or New Zealand but want something more international. Because the subscriber gets two monthly magazines for the price of one, Writers’ News two-in-one package also represents excellent value and is recommended for writers who want to keep in touch, find out about markets and improve their writing.